Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 83/100 [1] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | 4/5 [2] |
Computer and Video Games | 4/5 [3] |
Edge | 8/10 [4] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9.25/10 [5] |
EP Daily | 8/10 [6] |
GameRevolution | B− [8] |
GameSpot | 6.4/10 [7] |
Hyper | 95% [9] |
IGN | N64: 8.1/10
[10] Wii: 7.9/10 [11] |
Jeuxvideo.com | 17/20 [12] |
N64 Magazine | 91% [13] [14] |
Next Generation | 3/5 [17] |
Nintendo Life | Wii: 9/10
[15] NS:8/10 [16] |
Official Nintendo Magazine | 90% [18] |
Mario Kart 64 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregator Metacritic. [19] It was also commercially successful, selling 9.87 million copies worldwide—the second bestselling N64 game. [20]
Critics debated the game's presentation and visuals. Supporters felt the game adequately used the power of the N64 (critics from GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly), [5] [21] made the game stand out from others in the racing genre and in the Mario series ( GameSpot's Trent Ward), [7] and was an improvement over its 16-bit predecessor ( NintendoLife's Corbie Dillard and a reviewer from GameRevolution). [15] [8] Carine Barrel from the French Officiel Nintendo Magazine enjoyed the game's colourful and fluid visuals, adding that its overall presentation likened a "magical" experience. [22] Detractors of the graphics felt they lacked detail (Tom Gulse from Computer and Video Games and Peer Schneider from IGN), [3] [10] weren't a big enough improvement over Super Mario Kart ( AllGame's Scott McCall and Neil West from Next Generation), [2] [17] and failed to fully benefit from the N64's power (Francois Caron of Jeuxvideo.com). [12] The use of 2D sprites was a common critique, [12] West arguing that it made the game look 16-bit. [17]
Mario Kart 64's track design and gameplay polarised critics. The game was panned for being un-innovative (Schneider), [10] too easy (Caron), [12] and simple and monotonous (Ward and Nick Ferguson from Edge). [23] [7] [23] Computer and Video Games's Ed Lomas [3] and N64 Magazine's Jonathan Nash felt that success was too dependent on getting the right power-ups. [13] Morley disliked Mario Kart 64's wide, motorway-like track design, saying that it did not provide an "adrenaline filled" experience which players might have hoped for. [24] Critics also found fault in the game's use of rubberband difficulty balancing, recognising that it gave the enemy AI an unfair advantage. [24] [10] [13] Technical issues such as poor collision detection and lag in the four-player "Battle Mode" were also noted. [6] [17] [13]
The gameplay did have supporters, who noted its large amount of courses (West, GamePro, and Electric Playground), [17] [6] [21] found its track designs more detailed and impressive than Super Mario Kart (Schneider and Dillard), [10] [15] and thought it had a lot of replay value (Caron and GamePro). [12] [21] Hyper's David Wildgoose and Jonathan highlighted the flexible turning control with the multiple-angled joystick, calling it "perfect" and true to real-life karts. [9] [13] Jonathan enjoyed the amount of focus and fast reflexes required for the player. [13] Wildgoose reported having many unexpected moments while playing the game due to its "ingeniously fiendish AI" and the boxes containing different power-ups each time they're collected. [9] Reviewers, even those lukewarm towards the graphics, positively noted touches such as the 180-degree turns in Bowser's Castle, the cows in Moo Moo Farm, and the sliding penguins in Sherbet Land as highlights, as well as smoke puffs coming out of karts. [9] [13] Critics found the multiplayer mode to be better than the single player, [23] with Schneider calling it "multi-player mayhem at its best". [10] Electronic Gaming Monthly named it a runner-up for "Multiplayer Game of the Year" (behind Saturn Bomberman) at their 1997 Editors' Choice Awards. [25]
helped spawn several sequels which have been brought out across generations of Nintendo consoles. Mario Kart 64 placed 17th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time [26] and 49th in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1997 list of the 100 best console games of all time. [27]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 83/100 [1] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | 4/5 [2] |
Computer and Video Games | 4/5 [3] |
Edge | 8/10 [4] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9.25/10 [5] |
EP Daily | 8/10 [6] |
GameRevolution | B− [8] |
GameSpot | 6.4/10 [7] |
Hyper | 95% [9] |
IGN | N64: 8.1/10
[10] Wii: 7.9/10 [11] |
Jeuxvideo.com | 17/20 [12] |
N64 Magazine | 91% [13] [14] |
Next Generation | 3/5 [17] |
Nintendo Life | Wii: 9/10
[15] NS:8/10 [16] |
Official Nintendo Magazine | 90% [18] |
Mario Kart 64 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregator Metacritic. [19] It was also commercially successful, selling 9.87 million copies worldwide—the second bestselling N64 game. [20]
Critics debated the game's presentation and visuals. Supporters felt the game adequately used the power of the N64 (critics from GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly), [5] [21] made the game stand out from others in the racing genre and in the Mario series ( GameSpot's Trent Ward), [7] and was an improvement over its 16-bit predecessor ( NintendoLife's Corbie Dillard and a reviewer from GameRevolution). [15] [8] Carine Barrel from the French Officiel Nintendo Magazine enjoyed the game's colourful and fluid visuals, adding that its overall presentation likened a "magical" experience. [22] Detractors of the graphics felt they lacked detail (Tom Gulse from Computer and Video Games and Peer Schneider from IGN), [3] [10] weren't a big enough improvement over Super Mario Kart ( AllGame's Scott McCall and Neil West from Next Generation), [2] [17] and failed to fully benefit from the N64's power (Francois Caron of Jeuxvideo.com). [12] The use of 2D sprites was a common critique, [12] West arguing that it made the game look 16-bit. [17]
Mario Kart 64's track design and gameplay polarised critics. The game was panned for being un-innovative (Schneider), [10] too easy (Caron), [12] and simple and monotonous (Ward and Nick Ferguson from Edge). [23] [7] [23] Computer and Video Games's Ed Lomas [3] and N64 Magazine's Jonathan Nash felt that success was too dependent on getting the right power-ups. [13] Morley disliked Mario Kart 64's wide, motorway-like track design, saying that it did not provide an "adrenaline filled" experience which players might have hoped for. [24] Critics also found fault in the game's use of rubberband difficulty balancing, recognising that it gave the enemy AI an unfair advantage. [24] [10] [13] Technical issues such as poor collision detection and lag in the four-player "Battle Mode" were also noted. [6] [17] [13]
The gameplay did have supporters, who noted its large amount of courses (West, GamePro, and Electric Playground), [17] [6] [21] found its track designs more detailed and impressive than Super Mario Kart (Schneider and Dillard), [10] [15] and thought it had a lot of replay value (Caron and GamePro). [12] [21] Hyper's David Wildgoose and Jonathan highlighted the flexible turning control with the multiple-angled joystick, calling it "perfect" and true to real-life karts. [9] [13] Jonathan enjoyed the amount of focus and fast reflexes required for the player. [13] Wildgoose reported having many unexpected moments while playing the game due to its "ingeniously fiendish AI" and the boxes containing different power-ups each time they're collected. [9] Reviewers, even those lukewarm towards the graphics, positively noted touches such as the 180-degree turns in Bowser's Castle, the cows in Moo Moo Farm, and the sliding penguins in Sherbet Land as highlights, as well as smoke puffs coming out of karts. [9] [13] Critics found the multiplayer mode to be better than the single player, [23] with Schneider calling it "multi-player mayhem at its best". [10] Electronic Gaming Monthly named it a runner-up for "Multiplayer Game of the Year" (behind Saturn Bomberman) at their 1997 Editors' Choice Awards. [25]
helped spawn several sequels which have been brought out across generations of Nintendo consoles. Mario Kart 64 placed 17th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time [26] and 49th in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1997 list of the 100 best console games of all time. [27]